Because of the importance of oral hygiene to overall health, visiting a dental practice is a normal part of life. However, even though everyone knows the benefits of routinely going to the dentist, some people are absolutely terrified of the thought.
How can your dental practice sustain business if patients hesitate or refuse to make an appointment?
Dental Dread
According to a study that surveyed approximately 18,000 people all over the world, 61 percent were afraid to go to the dentist and 4 percent have not visited a dental office at all. In the United States alone, a full third of the population would prefer not to go to a clinic because of the anxiety and fear they associate with the experience.
What exactly are they afraid of during a dental procedure?
The largest percentage of the respondents, comprising 39 percent of the population, said they were scared of experiencing pain. The chemical smells so common in dentistry instilled fear in 24 percent of the respondents and 21 percent were terrified of the whining noise produced by the drill. There’s even 5 percent of the population anxious about these very factors.
Getting people to visit your dental office shouldn’t be like pulling teeth.
One way to address dental anxiety and fear is to use content marketing as part of your search engine optimization strategy. SEO services for dentists can include this kind of optimization that develops engaging and shareable content for your practice.
Promoting Your Practice Without Advertising
Content marketing could help your dental practice rank on the first page of search engine results pages. It could also put a spotlight on your service as the clinic that knows how to ease a patient’s anxiety or fear. But how do you do it?
Offer advice through videos, for starters. Help reluctant patients prepare for appointments by providing steps to reduce their anxieties. You could also create articles listing the technological advances that reduce the discomfort of dental procedures. For example, do a series of blogs on sedation dentistry.
Another form of content marketing would be to create infographics that showcase facts about dental visits. Dispel myths about dental procedures and highlight the value of oral health to a person’s overall health. An informed patient is less likely to feel hesitant about a procedure.
A Soothing Dental Office
Ambiance and attitude are also important to manage your patient’s fear of dental procedures. Making the experience as soothing and calming as possible will be invaluable in building a loyal client base of satisfied patients.
Win the trust of patients and put their fears at bay with the following:
- Talk to patients to distract them from their anxieties. Any conversation will help them concentrate on anything but their fear of pain and the drill.
- Install a television so that it’s directly visible from the dental chair. This will have the same distracting and calming effect as talking to the patient. You can also repaint the interior with cheerful colors and wallpaper.
- Play soothing sounds, from beach waves to the rainforest.
Fear could be standing in the way of your dental practice and success. Calm your patients down. Make their visit relaxing through online and offline strategies, and you’ll find yourself on the road to prosperity.